The Silver Elvis Wig: a brief history

There have been several different explanations for how the Nats came to award a Silver Elvis Wig to their player of the game after wins. One version said it was Adam Dunn's idea, and that Nyjer Morgan then bought the wig at a Halloween store. Another said that the wig was re-purposed from Morgan's most recent Halloween costume. Because I figure this will feature prominently in the book, I went ahead and compiled a brief oral history of the wig. Thank me later.

And bear in mind, that these quotes weren't said in this order. But they were all said.

Nyjer Morgan: I went to this little Halloween jamboree, and basically your boy T. Plush was, you know those fake outfits with the fake muscles, the Superman? I had a Superman outfit on with the fake muscles. And I saw that Silver Fox wig at the surplus store, so basically that's when I put the two together. And from that Halloween party I just kept the hat, brought it with me, and then in spring training when we were packing up to come here, I just left it in the box, had everything shipped up here. And then [I] just happened to pull it out when we were unpacking our stuff.

Adam Dunn: He never surprises me, the stuff he wears to the field or brings to the field.

Morgan: To tell you the truth, it was probably 20 bucks Canadian, 30 bucks Canadian. I was up there, I've got friends and family all over the place. I'm like Austin Powers, internationally known....I was like a grizzled Superman.

Ryan Zimmerman: We saw it in Nyjer's locker, and we were like Nyjer, what the hell is that? He was like, 'I don't know, it's Elvis.'

Josh Willingham: The only thing I remember is one day it showed up in Nyjer Morgan's locker. I just remember after one game early in the year he's like, 'Hey, player of the game, put this on.'

Dunn: It was kind of collaboration of, that's a pretty cool wig, let's do something with it. There were a few of us, I'm not gonna take credit for it.

Morgan: We just all basically came out with a team agreement saying that we were gonna use it for the player of the game, he has to wear the Silver Fox. It was a unanimous decision, team-approved....Normally [MASN's Debbi Taylor] pulls somebody aside for the player of the game.

Dunn: For the most part, it's pretty cut-and-dry who the player of the game is.

Debbi Taylor: I'll tell you what, if there's ever a really tough decision, if I interview someone on the field and the players disagree, I believe that Pudge Rodriguez, the senior veteran guy on the club, can trump anyone else.

Zimmerman: Usually it's obvious. I think if it comes down to a split decision, usually Pudge is the ones who decides things. Because he's obviously been in the league for like 84 years, so he gets to decide.

Morgan: I just said that. See, you're going in circles. It's a community service wig, dog.

Ian Desmond: I was supposed to wear it two days ago and we couldn't locate the Silver Fox. That's why we lost the next day.

Willingham: I've worn it once. It felt great on my head.

Dunn: I don't want to call it an incentive...I'm not gonna lie dude, I want to wear it every night.

Morgan: T. Plush has never worn the Silver Fox yet. I guess I've got to play better, that's all it is.

Zimmerman: I have not gotten it. And secretly, deep down inside, it eats me up.

Morgan: Some people have size 8, and I don't want to go specific on who has a size 8 because I don't like throwing my guys under the bus.

Dunn: Believe it or not, I've got a little head. It's probably tough on people like Livo, who's got a grande cabeza.

Zimmerman: It's just something fun. It's unique to our team, and it gives us a reason to have fun after we win. It's good. It's harmless. We hope nobody thinks anything bad of it. But we don't really care if anyone does, anyway.

Morgan: I think it's gonna build team camaraderie and get the boys going in the right direction.

Willingham: I mean, you play 162 games, and you've got to keep things fun....Winning's all about having fun. So after we win, just spice it up a little bit. With a wig.

Maybe it's just a reflection of the fact that they're winning more regularly, but it seems to me that this team has a lot more personality than previous incarnations of the Nats. And if they keep this up when Strasburg arrives, the whole country is going to see it.

Speaking of Zimmerman, have you notices how much more vocal he has been in the dugout. Cheering for hits and homers. Charlie and Dave mentioned it too. MASN focused on him one day. He was sitting on the top step of the dugout when an unbelieveable catch was made by the opposing team (I wish I remembered who it was, but it was an unbelievable behind the back catch in right field). Z wasn't looking but said loudly, "Did he CATCH THAT???" I like that he is coming out of his shell and I think it has a positive impact on the entire team.